More User Reviews:

Poured into a standard pint glass a rich deep amber with sticky one finger slight off white head,aromas were a bit one sided in the vanilla oak department,slight smoke,and the herbal hops to show their qualities underneath the oak.The hops shine thru more on the palate in my opinion,a mix of vanilla tinged oak chips,and big herbal hops go pretty much even with each other,the alcohol sweetness keeps it from being really highly drinkable but the flavors are pretty complex,and well defined. (492 characters)

A-Great color- just the right medium amber( if you agree with me on the perfect amber anyways)S- very oak, bourbon- sometimes enticing, sometime too muchT-Oak-bourbon is the first impact-- too much--but melts away quickly due to good carbonation that is oddly delayed.M- As mentioned above, carbonation is good, but has a delay Finish is a sweet tongue coating.D- Between the rich taste and the ABV, one 22oz bottle is about the limit. See last sentence below.

This is about my 3rd taste of this over a 2 month period. It fills a spot in my fridge for serving with really strong cheese and other strong apps. (613 characters)

Cheers to 16 years! This beer starts with a heavy dose of suds clinging to the glass, clear and brassy. Woodsy, thick hop resin, tropical fruit, raw honey and bready malt base create a flaunting aroma. Its creamy full body, wood and hops pull on the taste buds first. Then the hop bitterness and flavor nail the tongue down. There is also a sugges- tion of pineapple and mango within the peppery warming alcohol. Malt sweetness is layered underneath with hints of honey and bread. Concluding with a semidry, oaky and pungent hop finish, this beer is big and beautiful, yet a bit delicate. Its prime is now--no need to cellar. This is a real slow sipper. (711 characters)

Poured into a snifter the beer was a hazy copper color with a thick, off-white head and sheets of lace.Woody aroma, fruity citrus. Also some earthy/peppery hops.Nice taste. Sweet, vanilla/oak. Grapefruit, tangerine. Herbal hops to finish.Very smooth beer; you'd never know it was 10% ABV.Would love to drink this again (322 characters)

The beer pours a clear reddish-orange color with a white head. The aroma is a mix of caramel malt, oak and citrus hops. The flavor is very heavy on the oak, with some caramel malt, citrus hops and pine hops. There is also some spiciness in the flavor. I had this beer last year and I don't remember it being near as oaky as this version. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. Good, but I wish the oak was toned down a little bit so that the other aspects of the beer could come through better. (496 characters)

Note to Brewery: Printing Bottled on Date on a dark label with black ink doesn't work.

Poured into a Duvel Tulip glass dark amber with a nice thick froathy head. Great retention and great lacing. Not much of a hop scent to the nose, I do note a woody carmel scent. The taste is not over powering that a hop head might demand. There is a nice hop bite with a sugary almost maple taste. Not much of a noticable wood flavor. The mouthfeel is excellent, no noticable alcohol burn for this ABV. Just the right texture. (514 characters)

Pours a hazy copper color with a one-finger cream-colored head. The head recedes into a patchy layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of smooth caramel malts with good amounts of pine hops. Also present are lighter amounts of citrus hops and vanilla aromas.

Tastes similar to how it smells, though more robust. Sticky caramel malt flavors kick things off and are joined quickly by solid amounts of pine hop flavors. Midway through the ship the pine hops are joined by less flavorful but more robust earthy hops. Very light hints of vanilla work their way into things before a solidly bitter ending. There's not a whole lot of flavor imparted by the barrels but it's more than alright as the flavors are certainly smoothed out through the use of the barrel.

Mouthfeel is very good. It's got a nice thickness with grainy carbonation.

Drinkability is also very good. I finished my glass quickly and could easily have a few more.

Overall I've heard this is the exact same recipe as the 16th anniversary but I have to believe there were some small tweaks as this beer was smoother and more robust than I remember the 15th being. Worth a shot. (1,179 characters)

Pours a clear rusty tangerine color with a nice thick khaki head. Very thick bubbles that stick to everything it touches and laces the duration of the beer.

The nose has an earthy smell that revolves around oak and vanilla with hints of hops and grains. Quite nice but not as bold in the hop department as one would expect from an IIPA. Personally I think the Hercules IIPA Great Divide does is much more hoppy aromatic.

This beer tastes very good but I can't give it excellent numbers. It doesn't have much citrus and hop kick that you would expect from an IIPA. What it does have is a simple grain bill that has a slight molasses sweetness to it. Clean malt flavors that add to the touches of oak and vanilla. All in all a tasty beverage but not a big beer by any means in the flavor department.

Mouthfeel steps it up with some solid bitterness and a smooth silky texture. An absolute pleasure to drink and a finish that is up there with some of my favorites. A great beer even if it does fall short in the IIPA standard I've come to expect. (1,047 characters)

Great example of what a good beer a DIPA can be on wood. Easily as good as Burton Baton.

Served in a 10oz-12oz snifter from the source.

This beer was just clean...much better than the Hercules. Grapefruit, fresh cut grass, the wood was there but not at all overpowering. The oak just added depth. There was a small amount of booziness detected, as one would expect with a 10% wood aged beer. NOT overly malty. Horray! To my pleasant surprise.

Was glad I was able to try this one visiting Denver for the first time. (517 characters)

22oz bomber, purchased and stored cold until drinking, 3 pours into an 8oz pilsner glass over the evening.

color is a deep amber, head is thin, dissipates quickly leaving some lacing.

the oak aroma permeates the beer, but the hops aroma is still present, though the citrus is somewhat offset by the oak. the wood seems to bring out more of the malty sweet aromas more than the hops.

the taste is definitely what i would expect from a wood aged hercules imperial ipa (which i presume this is). all of the telltale signs of the hercules are there, the boozy 10% abv taste, the great citrus and pine hops, the sweet malt, all mildly accented by the wood aging that lingers a little longer on the palate than the rest of the beer's flavors. the wood is not dominant, but its not easy to miss, i find the effect of the aging to be well balanced and not overpowering. hops > malt > wood after swallow. over the course of the evening i found that this tasted great w/ both some salty pretzels, as well as some strawberries lightly sweetened w/ vanilla infused raw sugar.

mouthfeel is that which i would expect from a wood aged beer - not very carbonated, very smooth, and almost somewhat thick as it coats the palate thoroughly for more than a few seconds after you swallow. i consider this to be a good trait for this style as you get to savor all of the subtleties that the aging has imparted on this already robustly flavored ale.

drinkability is only average for me - i could (and will, while it lasts) easily enjoy a bomber over the course of a low-key evening at home, but this is not a session beer to crack bottle after bottle of.

overall, i love the titan, hercules, and dpa from great divide, and no surprise, i love this one too. (1,751 characters)

This orange-cherry colored beer sits with a finger of head on top. As the foam recedes, a picturesque mountain range is left from the well laced bubbles on the glass surface.

Smells are rich caramel malts and light floral hops underneath with a touch of vanilla.

A real malter, this one. The malts hit the tongue, drying from the oak, giving way to vague lemon and orange hops followed by a sticky but fading pine. Bitterness lingers on with thick sweetness mixed in.

The body is fine, pretty syrupy for an IIPA. On a warm day such as today, the brew is appropriate but I wish I had someone to split the bomber with. (620 characters)

It's been awhile since I've tried a Great Divide beer but when I saw this double IPA on the shelf, I knew I had to get it. Their regular pale ale is good, their Yeti stout is also note worthy, and I remember very much enjoying their Dunkelweizen. Then when I saw that it was oak aged and an anniversary brew, my interest peaked even more. Mind you, this is a pricey beer.

When I poured this out, it was immediately evident that I would enjoy it. The head on it is caramel in color and frothy. The head also lingers on top and leaves much lacing on the beer glass. The double IPA is a little interesting in its color. I don't know why I think it would have a different color but for some reason I took note of it. Perhaps it is the less-than-normal bubble intensity in it as well as how clear it is. It looks like copper-colored water. Eh, well, enough about the color. The smell is great. It's malty sweet and smooth goodness is mixed with a hint of pine, alcohol, a bit of citrus, and the pseudo-sour/earthiness of oak (from the oak aging, obviously).

As far as taste goes, it's very nice. The oak aging has toned down the hops but it's still a very good pale ale. It is smooth on the tongue but has enough bite with the hops and a little bit of carbonation to make a balance. The smoothness comes from some vanilla syrupy flavors. This beer has a 10% ABV but it isn't very noticeable, which isn't a bad thing. It's a bit interesting how this double IPA doesn't taste like a more hoppy beer. I don't think that's bad because it's still a very good beer. Syrupy, sweet, hoppy, and smooth, that's what this beer is. And don't forget the pine flavor.

This is a very good pale ale. If you're expecting a more than usual hoppy beer, like a usual double IPA, then this won't be what you want. It's still tasty and enjoyable. It's very drinkable and doesn't kick your butt like most other 10% ABV beers would. (1,906 characters)

Great Divide's 16th pours a clear deep copper body with orange and chestnut accents beneath a frothy head of khaki. The head slowly falls in upon itself, dropping from a full two fingers thick down to just barely one around the edges with a clearing in the center. It leaves solid curtains of lacing about the glass, however, and with each sip there's another ring added.

The aroma is clearly woody, offering notes of dry oak and vanilla over its sweetish, golden caramel maltiness. I find it welcoming, intriguing, and somehow almost comforting. Oddly, it's not very hoppy... the label did say double IPA, right? There are some hops present, but they don't seem to come forward; perhaps they can't compete with the vanilla and oak and malt. And I actually prefer it that way, but the double IPA tag threw me off. Maybe it would be better termed an English-style Double IPA; or perhaps a Double Pale Ale. Regardless, it's certainly wonderful.

In the mouth it's creamy and smooth, displaying a medium-full body and delicate, moderate carbonation. Beautiful.

The flavor offers a brilliant combination of gently caramelish malt that's accentuated by the vanilla, making it appear even sweeter than it actually is. (And all of that vanilla is just from the oak chips)? Drying oak appears, and the hops chime in: leafy, gently grassy, and floral. A solid bitterness backs it, and it finishes quite drying, at least in part due to the alcohol as there's a bit of spiciness, but also in part due to the oak. Some sweet malt flitters about at first, but eventually erodes leaving the palate bone-dry. It's really well-rounded and balanced from its start to finish, ascending and then descending in a perfect arc. Quite nice!

As to drinkability, for a beer of 10% alc./vol. I find it quite stunning. It's sweetish, complex, and then completely dry without being overly bitter. Initially you find malt and wood, but in the end you find hops. Remarkable. I think this would be a great holiday beer, either with a turkey dinner or just relaxing in front of the fire. I'll need to find more of this. (2,091 characters)

Taste. This is so big in hops and bitters that when they mash twice as many malts in the blend it becomes smooth with big smooth hoppy flaver, but you can flaver the heat in the back of the palet just enough to know its there. (304 characters)